Cheyenne Mayor Expects New Non-Discrimination Proposal

Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr says she has heard a new nondiscrimination proposal designed to protect the rights of LGBTQ residents will be coming before the Cheyenne City Council again in the near future.

The mayor says she hasn't seen the specifics of the proposal, noting that under Cheyenne's city government structure the mayor doesn't bring forth ordinances.

Orr supported a nondiscrimination ordinance in her run for mayor and says she thinks one is needed in Cheyenne.

She says that while she doesn't know whether the latest Cheyenne proposal will include civil penalties such as potential fines or criminal penalties such as possible jail sentences, she personally favors civil penalties.

The mayor also says she personally favors a religious exemption as part of any such ordinance. She adds the best thing might be to wait until the Supreme Court rules on a Colorado case of a baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple before approving a local ordinance.

The mayor made the comments Monday on KGAB radio. She says Councilman Richard Johnson is expected to bring forward the non-discrimination proposal. Johnson is scheduled to appear on KGAB on Thursday (July 20) at 7 a.m.

The Cheyenne City Council has passed a resolution against discrimination, but the city has no law specifically levying civil or criminal penalties on anyone found to discriminate against LGBTQ residents.